Gold nanoparticles
(Au NPs) are installed in situ on the surfaces
of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) based on
supramolecular hydroxylatopillar[6]arene (P6). The Au NPs can be obtained
via the redox reaction between HAuCl4 and P6 without any
NH2–NH2, NaBH4, and other
reductants, where AuCl4– is reduced to
Au0 by the −OH groups in the presence of OH–, and the −OH groups are oxidized into −COOH.
First, P6 is loaded onto the surface of g-C3N4 via π–π interaction between P6 and g-C3N4, which offers a stabilized and reduced site for in
situ anchoring of Au NPs. The hybrid nanomaterial Au-NPs@P6@g-C3N4 exhibits higher catalytic capability than the
Pd/C catalyst in 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction and methylene blue
degradation, which opens a new avenue for designing more efficient
hybrid nanomaterials for application in catalysis, sensing, and other
fields.